Stafford scandal boss walks off with £400,000

The chief executive who presided over one of the worst hospital scandals in
NHS history will walk away with more than £400,000 and a £1 million plus
pension pot, it can be revealed.

Martin Yeates, who presided over the Stafford Hospital scandal, has taken a job as chief executive of a health charity Photo: EXPRESSANDSTAR.COM

By Laura Donnelly, Health Correspondent

9:00PM BST 23 May 2009

Martin Yeates was suspended as chief executive of Mid Staffordshire Foundation Trust in March, two weeks before an investigation revealed the deaths of at least 400 more patients more than would have been expected, amid an "appalling" catalogue of failings in care.

The report by the Healthcare Commission found the trust's board saved millions of pounds by cutting the number of nurses at Stafford Hospital, even though it was short-staffed and had dangerously high death rates.

Decisions about which patients to treat first were left to receptionists, while relatives said patients were so dehydrated that they were forced to drink from vases.

Mr Yeates was suspended on March 3, just before the investigation was published, but continued to collect his £169,000 salary until resigning one week ago, without any disciplinary action being taken against him.

Investigations by this newspaper reveal that the hospital boss will receive more than £110,000 in salary payments for his notice and suspension period, as well as a tax-free lump sum which experts calculate to be at least £350,000.

Pension advisers said his final salary pension after 30 years in the health service would provide an annual payment of £65,000, in a total pot worth more than £1 million.

Julie Bailey, who founded campaign group Cure the NHS to alert the public to the failings of Stafford hospital, was "absolutely horrified" to learn of the rewards the NHS manager will receive.

Mrs Bailey, who set up the group after the death of her mother, Bella, in the hospital in November 2007, said: "I am staggered to hear that this man, who was responsible for a scandal on this scale, which led to the deaths of so many hundreds of people, will walk away with this kind of money."

The campaigner, who has used her café as a place for bereaved relatives to gather and plan their fight for justice, and a public inquiry into the events at Stafford, said it was "hard to take in" the sums being awarded.

Her campaigning role has forced her to shut her business for long periods, leaving her struggling to pay this month's rent, she said.

Ministers are angry that the trust failed to take disciplinary action against its disgraced boss, who led the trust from 2005 and took a pay rise of more than £30,000 while the trust's death rates were under investigation.

Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, is currently considering a report into Mr Yeates' role in the scandal, to see if action could still be taken against him, preventing his entitlement to pay for his notice period.

Ben Bradshaw, a health minister, said: "Given the grave concerns and the understandable level of public concern, I find it hard to understand why the decision was taken not to go through a disciplinary action."

But legal experts warned that it would be "almost impossible" for the trust or Government to take action now that the disgraced chief executive's resignation had been accepted.

Sarah King, an employment lawyer at PJH Law said: "If the trust knew all the facts when his resignation was accepted it is very hard for them to change that position.

"The Government is not a party in this case, so all they can do is put pressure on the trust, but even then, once the money has been paid, it is hard to argue the case retrospectively."

Katherine Murphy, from charity the Patients Association said: "It is really scandalous that the man who presided over this catalogue of failings, that have left families bereaved and suffering, will be rewarded for his part in it.

"It is bad enough for taxpayers, but for the families who lost loved ones at Stafford Hospital, this is an absolute insult. This man should not be getting a penny."

More than 4,700 people have already backed The Sunday Telegraph's Heal Our Hospitals campaign, which is calling for an independent inquiry into the regulation and supervision of NHS hospitals, the failings in Staffordshire and the way hospitals are supervised nationwide.

The Royal College of Nurses, the Patients Association, Cure the NHS, and the Conservative Party have all called for an independent inquiry into what went on at Stafford.